Bobby Bonilla #25 of the Pittsburgh Pirates listens to manager Jim Leyland during a 1989 MLB season game.(Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

PITTSBURGH (93-7 THE FAN) – Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Sports Editor Steve Ziants joined the Colin Dunlap Radio Programme to talk about his new book “100 Things Pirates Fan Should Know and Do Before They Die.”

Books like it have been done in other Major League cities, but this is the first of its kind for the city of Pittsburgh.

When asked how he decided to write the book, Ziants says, “I kind of stumbled into it, just kind of took from there and ran with it.”

The book is a compilation of the great stories, players and personalities in Pirates history.

“This is a history book, but it’s not told in chronological order as the title suggests,” Ziants says.

Colin and Steve talk about the fan support after the first winning season in over 20 years.

“It didn’t surprise me at all, they have always had a strong following,” Ziants says. “They gave the city a reason to love it back.”

Ziants argues that Pirates are even more loyal of a fan base than the Steelers.

He says that the book has very little one-on-one reporting, but more a look through the years from an archival standpoint. For the old-time fan, Ziants says, “this book is like picking up a scrapbook.”